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Help with Sydney Public Transportation

We will be in Sydney for 5 days next month. We are staying at The Radisson Blu on O'Connell Street. We plan to spend these days in central Sydney with perhaps trips to Manly. I do not attend to travel to the outskirts. My question is what kind of transportation package should I purchase. I have researched the web and can't find prices or can I understand which each package pays for. There are MyZone tickets with MyMulti tickets that are numbered 1,2,and 3. Can anyone help me? I thank you.

I'm no expert having been to Sydney only once but I think this is the gist of it:

MyMulti pass allows travel on busses, ferries, light rail and trains. If you are only using one type of transit then you can get a pass for just one mode.

The zones basically determine how far afield you can travel. If you are not going far from your home base, probably one zone will do. If you want to take the train to the Blue Mountains, you'll need MyMulti 3. You will have to locate your accommodation of the map and work it out from there.

Since you are only visiting for 5 days and not intending a lot of travelling about, you may want to just get day passes. Personally I prefer the convenience of a pass for the duration of my stay and once it is purchased don't worry about whether I'm paying a little more or a little less than single fares. At $61 for a week of unlimited travel is a darn good deal, in my mind.

We found the public transit a great way to get around with the only problem an extremely slow and crowded bus ride at afternoon rush hour. Great people watching, though.

Do be aware however if you take the train to the airport there is an extra "gate" fee which is $12 if I recall correctly.

For where you're staying the last thing you need is a car!
If you happen to be 60 years or over, you can use all public transport all day for $2.50 - this is available to all local residents, plus some visitors seem to be able to use it as well.

If you purchase your ticket at a vendor not located in a rail station or bus stop, you generally don't have to show your senior card (provided you look to be in the right age bracket).

Take a look at the website indicated by eliztravels2 above - it's the best guide for all Sydney & outer metro area travel advice. Di

Thank you all, I had thought that the my multi might do it. I also wondered about the senior idea. We are certainly seniors and look it too. I might try that also. If not I will just buy the my multi and see where I can go.

Reb23, stop flogging Herrz! Hiring a car for the OP's visit is ludicrous and if you knew the first thing about Sydney, you would know that!

Kintzing, the Seniors 60 & over pass is only available to Australian taxpayers ( one of the few perks we get). Some vendors will sell Seniors tickets to you without sighting the required card, but there are stiff fines if an inspector happens to ask you to show one. Not to mention the embarrassment, I would imagine.

Still, never hurts to ask at the ticket booth, there may be excursion passes or special deals.

What you want is a MyMulti 3 for A$61.- You can get the MyMulti 3 at any train station or at bus-ticket vending offices, possibly also elsewhere.

If you want to pay extra for your Manly trip, then a MyMulti 2 will suffice, but the nine dollars difference will be eaten up, so get the MyMulti 3.

Here’s why it is the pass for you - if you have the patience to read on... If not, just take my word for it.

As of Sep. 1 the rules are changing. Up until then the cheapest of the three MyMulti weekly passes, the MyMulti 1, covers all the ferry trips. After Sep. 1, no more.

Quoting the website: “From 1 September, if you travel on a ferry for a distance of less than 9km, you will need to purchase a MyMulti 2, and if you travel on a ferry for a distance of more than 9km, you will need to purchase a MyMulti 3.

For example, ferry customers travelling between Circular Quay and stops to Cabarita (including Bayview Park) and any stops on services from Darling Harbour/Balmain East, Woolwich/Balmain, Neutral Bay, Mosman Bay, Taronga Zoo or Eastern Suburbs, who also catch buses, light rail and trains will need to purchase a MyMulti 2.

Ferry customers travelling to and from Kissing Point, Meadowbank, Sydney Olympic Park, Rydalmere, Parramatta or Manly and also wanting to catch trains, buses and light rail will need to purchase a MyMulti 3.: (End of quote.)

Since it is great fun to hop on a ferry in good weather, even “just because” as you’ll quickly find out, you definitely want to get a MyMulti 2. For the one trip to Manly you can simply buy a ticket, or buy a MyMulti 3 and have that be covered also.

The MyMulti passes cover all trains and buses in the inner area you’re likely to want to remain in (Greater Sydney is a huge sprawl, rivalling Greater Los Angeles!). With a MyMulti 3 you won’t have to worry about getting caught “out of bounds” even when you go to Manly, or take the train from Circular Quay to, say, Central (although the ferry to Darling Harbour and the walk through Chinatown is more fun) or beyond.

So get the MyMulti3, it’s valid for a week from the day of first use, and it costs A$61

Nope. I rarely take shuttles anyway but was just wondering why your initial warning was so strong. My hotel should be about a block from that Circular Quay station and from there it looks mostly like walking.

"..an Australian citizen to get the reduced senior rates..."
No worries, you couldn't anyway, you need local resident's paperwork for that. The MyMulti 3 at A$61 is a fair deal as you'll quickly find out when you fall in love with taking the ferry "just for the heck of it" - those moments on the harbour might become the most lasting of all your memories!

Take a look at the free shuttle bus no. 555 - it does a circular route from Circular Quay to Central Station, so you can travel in either direction. It's very handy for Hyde Park, George Steet (the main shopping street), and the Queen Victoria Building (A MUST SEE).

We lived in Sydney, overlooking Hyde Park, for about 18 months . I used the 555 at least 4 days a week, even for simple stuff like returning my library books to Customs House!
At certain times of the day the bus can get very crowded, particularly between Town Hall and Chinatown, but it's all part of the (for me) great Sydney Experience.